January 28th, 2016

5 Ways Your Blog is Working Against You

Just like everything else in the marketing world, blogging is very strategic. We all want our post to go viral and develop a loyal readership; but unfortunately, providing great content is only a small factor. Don’t let these common blogging mistakes hold you back.

False Headline

According to CopyBlogger, 8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest. We all want our blogs to have catchy, must-read headlines, but clickbait titles are nothing but deceiving if your content doesn’t live up to it. Build trust with your readers by insuring that your headline is completely transparent – it tells them right from the beginning what’s in it for them. For example, this post would probably upset you if I promised “5 ways to increase blog traffic by 100%,” but then showed no proof that changing these factors actually provides results.

However, this doesn’t mean that you can’t be creative and intriguing. Start with a working headline, one that clearly defines what your blog is about. This is a great way to ensure that you stay on topic while writing. Once you’re finished, use your content to help reword your title. In addition, professional bloggers know that there are certain power words you can use to get people to click, and some of them are: Immediately, strategic, powerful, hypnotic, explosive and exclusive.

Boring Tone

As a blogger, the voice and tone of your writing is more important than the content itself. Blogging is one of the only forms of writing where you can be yourself, express opinions, and write similar to how you actually talk. The downfall to this is that if you can’t put your personality into it, then it doesn’t matter whether or not what you’re saying has great value for the reader, it’s just boring.

Before you decide to start blogging, or even if you’ve been blogging for a while, look through your previous writing and other blogs you admire to discover what it is you like about them. What is their tone? Are they helpful, serious, funny, sarcastic, blunt? Figure out what you want to be, and stick to it. Readers want to connect with the author. If they can relate to you and they feel that you’re genuine, they’ll want to keep reading.

Big Blocks of Copy

Humans now have a shorter attention span than goldfish thanks to the vast amount of information that is available for us to consume (more like being shoved at us) every second. How many times have you opened an article, saw large, bulky paragraphs and decided not to read the content? I do this at least once every day.

We are hungry for knowledge, but always short on time. Most likely, your reader will already be skimming your post for the most important information. Make it easy for them by keeping your paragraphs simple, to the point, with sub-headlines and no more than 2 or 3 sentences long.

No Images

Humans are innately visual. We know this; yet, still week after week I stumble across multiple blog posts that don’t contain images. Articles with images get 94% more total views, this number is too high to be ignored. Having a main featured image on top is great, but don’t stop there. Use images to break up paragraphs and provide visuals that reinforce your point.

Inconsistant Publishing

Being consistent is key to forming a loyal readership. If your readers are used to you publishing content on Thursday afternoon, then they will look for it. They won’t however be looking for it on a Tuesday morning or Friday evening. Things happen, life will prevent you from getting your content out at some point, just don’t make it a habit or your readers may not come back.

Although none of this is probably new to you, sometimes it’s easy to find yourself overlooking small, but major details. Adding these points to your blogging checklist will help ensure you never make these mistakes again.

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Posted by Ariel Valley

Web designer, writer, social media lover and inbound marketer at Catch22 Marketing. Also known as a professional coffee taster, shoe enthusiast and film buff. Connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on Twitter @ariel_valley.